


Downton Abbey short fics

by crocodilepatronus



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-12-19 19:19:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11904489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crocodilepatronus/pseuds/crocodilepatronus
Summary: compilation of some of my Downton Abbey drabbles. all Thomas Barrow centric.





	1. Silence is Golden

Anyone who's ever lived in a large household can tell you that when one person gets a cold, everyone gets a cold. Downton, despite being the finest house in England (Carson's words, not Thomas's) was no exception. 

Nearly everyone both upstairs and downstairs within the frame of a week had come down with something unpleasant- it had started with a cough which then turned into a burning congestion in the lungs and a sore throat that made speaking nearly impossible. 

Clarkson was getting more exercise running up and down the stairs than he probably had in the war for it had struck everyone- from the Crawleys to the kitchen maids. 

Thomas was positive he'd caught it from Alfred. The bloody moron had coughed in his direction a few days ago but he was so ridiculously tall a cough from him was like a shower of germs onto the heads of whomever was unfortunate enough to be within spitting distance. 

 _Didn't anyone ever teach him to cover his cough? Raised in a fucking barn._  Thomas thought bitterly as he himself began coughing again in his bed.  _No, worse. Raised by O'Brien's family. Probably teach you it's incorrect if you don't drag others into your suffering by spraying your germs all over them._

There was a knock at the door and then a somewhat cheery voice on the other side said "Thomas? Can I come in?"

Thomas would never have thought the sound of Jimmy's voice could ever be annoying to him. But there it was. 

The one golden boy, the one who got away, the only member of the household who was healthy as could be and with more vim than ever was Jimmy Kent. 

And he insisted on going around with a big grin on his face. Thomas just  _ **knew**_  Jimmy thought he was the best of them all just because he had the best immune system. 

If Jimmy had been sick, Thomas would've blamed his catching his cold on him instead of Alfred. It would be impossible not to with the amount of bodily fluids they shared with eachother on a near nightly basis now. 

Thomas tried to say come in but his voice died in his throat and a scratchy, hacking noise came out instead that made him wince. The door opened and Jimmy peeked his head around, beaming like a ray of sunshine. 

"That didn't sound pleasant." he said.

"What do you want?" Thomas managed to croak weakly, feeling his ribs ache from the exertion of getting out a coherent sentence.

"Oh, that's not very polite, Mr.Barrow. I've just brought you some tea." Jimmy pushed his way through the doorway holding a tray with steaming soup and steaming tea and even a fresh picked flower in a little vase. Suddenly Jimmy Kent looked like an angel. He was practically shining with ethereal light. He kicked the door shut behind him and came in, setting the tray up on Thomas's dumbvalet and pulling up a chair next to the bed. 

"Jimmy... thank you." Thomas whispered dumbfounded, reaching out in awe and brushing his fingertips against the petals of the flower practically in a daze of disbelief. 

"I'm at your service today. And as many days as you need to recover."

Thomas smirked. "You're always at my service. I'm your boss." 

He began coughing again as soon as the words left his mouth and bent over, covering his mouth with his hand. 

"Ech. That's wretched. You should hear Lady Mary though. When I went upstairs I could hear her all the way down the hall. Never heard something so unladylike from her- sounds like a dying seal." Jimmy supressed a laugh. 

"Has Alfred died from it yet?" Thomas asked hopefully. 

"Fraid not. But his face is green. I mean literally green." 

Thomas smiled at Jimmy. 

"Are you going to read me the newspaper again? Like old times?" he asked, taking his hand in his. 

"Hmm. I can think of other things I'd much rather do." JImmy's lips curved up and he leaned forward but Thomas put his hand on his chest.

"Oi- you're the only one left of us. Can't have you getting sick too." Thomas laughed, "Or else when we all die who'll tell our story?"

Jimmy sat back and grinned, raising his eyebrows.

"I won't catch it. Not even after a hundred kisses from your disease ridden lips. I'm invincible." 

Thomas shook his head incredulously.

"You're  _something,_  alright." 

Jimmy laughed and moved further onto the bed, wrapping his arms around Thomas's waist. Thomas couldn't help himself but smile a bit and lean in closer as well, brushing the tip of his nose against Jimmy's neck. 

"A hundred kisses you say....? You'll be sick as a dog and with numb lips."

"Is that a challenge, Mr.Barrow?" he put his mouth against Thomas's, running his tongue slowly across his lower lip. 

-

Two days later everyone in the household had recovered. Everyone who had been sick, that is. The one and only person still in their beds was Jimmy Kent. 

"I wish I could've bet money on it or something. You were so confident you were immune." Thomas laughed, smoking a cigarette on the edge of Jimmy's bed. 

Jimmy made a weak and guttural groaning noise. It seemed his throat had become so sore he'd gone silent the last 6 hours and Thomas was enjoying it to it's full extent. 

He flipped open the newspaper. 

"Shall we read the cricket scores that you hate so much?" 

Jimmy shook his head, his already frazzled blond hair shaking. 

"I can't hear you, love, speak up." Thomas said without looking up from the page, a wicked smirk on his mouth.

Jimmy made a weak whimper. 

"I'll take that as a yes, then." 

Jimmy forced himself to sit up in bed and fell onto Thomas, leaning the weight of his torso against the older man's shoulders. Thomas smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want something, invincible one?" 

Jimmy bit his shoulder. 

"Hope you don't have rabies as well." 

Jimmy made a small growling noise and managed a smile. Thomas pushed Jimmy gently back against the pillows and placed his hand over his forehead. 

"You're still burning up..." he mumbled and wrung out a cold washcloth in the basin by the bed, draping it over Jimmy's forehead. 

Thomas stroked the side of Jimmy's face and watched his eyes flutter shut, a small content smile on his face. 

"You're sort of adorable like this, y'know."

Jimmy batted his eyelashes at Thomas.

".... I meant, you're cute when you're not talking." Thomas said and grinned when Jimmy punched him in the ribs.

\---

In some ways Jimmy was still the miracle man even though he'd caught the cold. Unlike everyone else he recovered within 48 hours and when Thomas came into his room on the third morning of his bed rest Jimmy was already up and coifing his hair, bright eyed and with natural color back in his cheeks.

"A full recovery then." Thomas said, shutting the door behind him. 

"Just a few days rest is all I needed." Jimmy grinned. 

Thomas walked over to him and put his hand on his forehead once more. 

"I'm telling you, I'm fine." Jimmy laughed. 

"No, you still feel a bit warm." Thomas said but there was a smile threatening the corner of his lips. "I think one more day of bed rest might do you good." 

Jimmy caught on quickly and bit his lower lip, smiling and looking up at Thomas demurely through his eyelashes. "But I'm so lonely and bored here in my bed with nothing and no one to do." 

Thomas grinned and pulled Jimmy close to him, kissing his jawline. 

"Then I'll just have to come check up on you a lot. I am a medic after all. And Clarkson's probably so tired it would be a shame to make him come back just on your account." He slid his hands up Jimmy's shirt, running his fingertips along the lines of his ribs as his breath hitched. "But I'll have to do a full examination." 

Jimmy ran his hand through Thomas's hair. "Alright. But I think you'll find, Thomas, that my body is in full working order."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that." 


	2. Skin As White As Snow

When he went to bed at night and when he woke up in the morning, the book felt like a heavy prescence in his room lying unassuming on the top of his wardrobe. As if it were the center of gravity of his bedroom. His eyes flicked to it briefly as he undressed and again when he moved closer to it, standing in front of his mirrors. All four of them. The same face looked back.

Jimmy leaned forward, examining his reflection carefully as he did many nights- though he didn’t think he’d be quick to admit that to anyone. For better or for worse he’d always been beautiful. That held both positive and negative connotations for Jimmy. It made him an object affection for most women and alienated him from most men. It was uneasy and in some ways it was actually **_lonely_**. But Jimmy was a firm believer that anything could be turned around to his advantage and so instead of trying to overcompensate by dressing poorly or getting a bad haircut to make the ‘pretty boy’ jokes he’d been subject to by his peers since he was an adolescent stop, he _embraced_ the fact that he was naturally good looking.

Now he nearly considered his good looks to be a part of his _personality_ and the maintenance of his appearance was a large part of his day.

Jimmy turned his head to the side slightly, brushing his knuckles along his jawline and feeling no stubble. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes and tucking one of the longer pieces behind his ear.

_Who’s the fairest of them all….?_

His eyes flickered once more to the book. Collected Tales of the Brothers Grimm. He wasn’t sure what had compelled him to buy it from the dusty old bookstore in Ripon. Curiosity or whim or fate perhaps. Jimmy knew he was far too old for fairy tales though re-reading through the book again he realized that his own mother had heavily abridged the original Grimm stories for the benefit of his innocence. He didn’t recall the bedtime stories of his childhood being quite so gruesome as the ones found in the book even if the names and characters were the same.

Perhaps he’d bought it because the book itself had been pretty- red leather bound with golden letters in the title. It seemed an old book- practically antique- and the binding was starting to weaken. But the pages weren’t delicate or stained- it was printed on thick paper that felt strangely comforting when he flicked his thumb over the edges of each page.

Jimmy wasn’t exactly tight fisted with his money and often things like this took his fancy and he’d feel compelled to buy them. He had an abundance of ties that were pretty but that he’d never wear and too many decks of cards that were too lovely looking to use. All of them bought on a spur of the moment decision and none of the purchases were regretted even if it made his room thicker with superfluous trinkents and made his wallet lighter. They were all special to him- tokens of his love for himself.

But the Grimm fairytales hadn’t been going unused. In fact Jimmy felt nearly as if he’d been put under a spell by one story in particular.

Snow White. It hadn’t exactly been a staple of his childhood- it was about princesses and he’d always cared more for dragons and knights. Though obviously he knew the story. He’d read it now because it was there- pure and simple. The same way he’d read all of the other chapters of the collection. However, Snow White was the only one that he re-read and then read again and again and it was the only one that stirred such a profound… ** _reaction_** from him.

He shook his head slightly and lowered his gaze, averting his eyes from looking at his own face and seeing the tell-tale blush he could feel creeping into his cheeks.  

The proble wasn’t in the reading but in the way the words of the book had printed themselves in his thoughts and came out spontaneously and unbidden during the day when he was trying to go about his work.

Particularly around the under butler.

He’d been playing cards with Thomas a week ago- just the two of them. For Alfred would stupidly agree to any game then quickly become bored when he realized he could never win when he was in competition with Thomas or Jimmy and soon leave the two of them alone.

There was the scent of smoke and a wealth of unsaid words between their bodies that night and as Jimmy looked at Thomas the words had come into his head- more like a whisper in his ear from some invisible spirit than a conscious thought.

… _grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed so that she had no peace night or day_ ….

And his breath had caught in his throat. He’d spent hours pondering why he’d thought such a thing. After all, the quote was about the evil queen’s hatred for  Snow White. _Though hate and love- in some ways are not all that different in their passions_ , said the same voice in his head that whispered fairytales in his ear.

And whether it was hate or love, Jimmy **_did_** have little peace night or day from thoughts of Thomas Barrow and like a weed he couldn’t pull free, these thoughts had indeed lodged themselves like a living thing in his chest. A parasite he couldn’t rid himself of.

Jimmy took a deep breath, seeing the distress in his own four reflections staring back at him and feeling it in the tightness of his pajama pants.

He paced the room, chewing on his thumbnail, before picking up his chair and putting it under the handle of his door at an angle to keep anyone (Alfred) from walking in, grabbed the book and leapt into bed.

Once the covers were pulled up to his chest he opened the book and it fell easily to the story he read most often- the binding yielding to the familiarity of Jimmy’s hand.

And with his other hand he slowly stroked his growing erection through the fabric of his pajamas.

He had the grace to blush at least. Even in complete privacy- he knew he was ridiculous. A grown man wanking off to a children’s story. But he knew it wasn’t really the story that was stirring him and making that familiar lust curl in the pit of his stomach.

 _Skin as white as snow_ ….

He closed his eyes, swallowing as the image behind them immediately became Thomas- pale as a vampire and twice as bloodthirsty when someone dared cross him. Jimmy imagined seeing Thomas completely naked in front of him and the thought simultaneously made him feel guilty and nearly frightened at the implications of touching himself to the thought of a naked man but at the same time all feelings of self doubt were put aside as the heat in his twitching cock became priority and he didn’t attempt to supress the harsh moan that escaped his lips.

Thomas’s milky white thighs, shoulders, chest, stomach…. in these moments when Jimmy’s reason was heeled at the feet of his desire, he wanted nothing more than to explore all of Thomas’s snow white body- preferrably with his mouth. Wanted to make the other man throw his head back in pleasure, offering up his pale neck to him to suck on and kiss and bite until it was blooming with fresh color.

 _Lips as red as blood_ ….

Countless times Jimmy had found himself staring fixedly at the way Thomas smoked. The way his lips wrapped around the cigarette tightly as he inhaled and then pursed on the exhale like a kiss to the air.

To his horror and embarassment he’d been called on it several months back. Thomas had looked at him, perplexed and said “Is there something on my face?” with a nervous laugh. And Jimmy had sputtered out quickly that he was just dying for a smoke and that was all.

Thomas had taken another drag, studying him and said, “Didn’t know you smoked….” with a shrug.

And then Jimmy had had to start smoking.

But he found himself distracted by Thomas’s lips even when there wasn’t a cigarette between them. Thomas had a wide, red, and acquiescent mouth- it curled up in a perfect sneer when he was showing contempt to someone he deemed below him or pursed into an attractive pout when he was trying not to say out loud what he thought of the stupid orders he was receiving from Carson or one of the family. And sometimes though more rarely it twisted into a perfect and sincere smile that made Jimmy’s knees go comically weak.

Jimmy thrust his hand down into his pants and began to run his palm with more urgency up and down his now fully hard shaft. He bit down on the inside of his cheek hard as his breath became reduced to ragged panting.

 _Hair as black as ebony_ …

God, he wanted to run his fingers through Thomas’s hair. Wanted to curl his hands into fists through it even if it meant them getting sticky with pomade. When he saw Thomas so neat and prim in his uniform everyday Jimmy regularly felt strong urges to shove him against the wall and kiss him until all his tidiness was gone. Until his black hair was falling in his eyes and framing his face, brushing just above his light colored eyes.

He wondered how Thomas’s hair would look when it wasn’t all combed back and styled. If it would be floppy and soft. How it would feel to brush his cheek against. How it would feel to grip Thomas’s hair as his head was between Jimmy’s thighs and his supple, red, mouth was wrapped around his cock…

Jimmy jerked his hips up off the bed, his back arching and his fist tightening as he moved it up and down his length.

He took his other hand away from the book and used it to squeeze his own bollocks, drawing out a choked gasp from his throat.

 _Thomas… beautiful Thomas… beautiful **and** handsome. The princess, the knight, the huntsman, the dragon, all at once_ …

“Mnngh…” he made a strangled noise as he came, spilling over his fingers and onto the bedsheets.

For several moments he lay spent on his cot, his chest rising and falling with every wheeze of breath. Finally he stood up and frowning, gingerly picked up the book and put it back on his wardrobe top. Until he would need it again the next night.

 


	3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman's Guide

"it's not that I don't  ** _like_**  Christmas." Jimmy said slowly, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.

"Really? Could've fooled me." Thomas chuckled, flicking ash from his cigarette into his tea saucer. "You think I didn’t see you rolling your eyes when everyone else was decorating the tree?”

Jimmy didn’t say anything but fell gracelessly into the chair opposite Thomas and propped his elbows up on the table. Thomas looked at Jimmy and Jimmy looked out the window.

“I heard it might snow later…” Thomas started again cautiously.

“I just used to celebrate Christmas with my family, that’s all.” Jimmy said in a voice of faux nonchalance, even going so far as to shrug his shoulders though the gesture came out more like a jerky full body shiver. His lips tightened and then pursed as he continued to keep his gaze fixed on the window. “It’s funny I… even though they’re gone, when everyone’s all around being loud and cheerful, it feels like they’re… dunno… interfering with **our** christmas….”

Jimmy straightened his back, eyes flicking over to Thomas as he forced a brief smile. “Well… Suppose, it’s just **_my_** christmas now.”

Thomas blinked silently at him for a  moment. Jimmy in poker and in life was a person who kept his cards close to his chest. Of the two of them, Jimmy seemed more extroverted and laid back in comparison to Thomas who was a bit more reserved, a bit more isolated. But in the end, Thomas mused, Jimmy was the man of mystery while he himself despite his best efforts seemed to be an open book when it really mattered.

So the brief moments where Jimmy did let Thomas in on one of his many secrets, were cherished by the under butler. And he still had yet to completely come up with an appropriate way to respond to them.

“Christmas wasn’t a very big part of my childhood.” Thomas said after a pause. “My father often kept the shop open even during the holidays until he retired… and my mother had an aversion to anything resembling ‘good cheer.’” he saw Jimmy’s lips twitch upward in a fleeting smile. “I had enough siblings that we only ever got little things for gifts anyway and every year **_atleast_** one of us got forgotten about…”

He laughed once wryly, looking down at the table “…usually me.”

Jimmy’s lips parted as if to say something but then closed again when he seemed to think better of it.

“They haven’t been anything special but the Christmases I’ve spent here are probably better than the ones I had back home.” Thomas shrugged. “Lady Mary always complains about whatever she gets even though it’s always something that costs more money than I’d make in a lifetime, and Carson doesn’t stop boasting for atleast a week about whatever the family’s bought him for a gift, but Patmore usually makes something good and one year we saw Mr.Molesley getting pegged with snow balls by village kids which was hilarious so….”

He trailed off as if he’d said too much and shifted his eyes purposefully away from Jimmy.

“Thomas, I…” Jimmy started to say, inching forward a bit in his seat and clenching his hands on the table. But Thomas wasn’t looking at him, he was looking out the window with his mouth open.

“Ah- Look, Jimmy! It’s snowing.” 


	4. The Senses That Remain

Edward’s blindness often made him feel detatched from the world around him. Standing alone in a silent room was torture. It felt like the universe spread out endlessly and completely empty from the point where he was, utter darkness that he was melting into.

But Thomas seemed to know that instinctively.

And always kept him close, kept him engaged with the world around him so that he never felt lost. He’d hold his hand, or put his arm around his waist- that was a perk of being blind and homosexual: it didn’t seem as strange to have another man escorting you around by the hand in public.

Edward had never been overly fond of the scent of cigarette smoke before but now he loved it more than anything. Scent had become a sense he didn’t take for granted any longer and the smell of smoke was a constant reminder that Thomas was there- that just because he couldn’t see him or hear them, that he hadn’t floated away. When it clung to his clothes it felt as though he was carrying Thomas with him all day and he wasn’t alone.

But being able to smell Thomas was nothing compared to being able to touch him and be touched by him.

Edward saw nothing but he felt so much and so deeply. More than he ever had when he could see. Every brush of fingertips against his skin was electric and all consuming. Everytime Thomas’s lips were wrapped around his cock it felt as if his body would burn up and the fire under his skin would sear him down to bones.

Thomas was gentle when Edward needed gentle and rough when Edward needed rough. He didn’t patronize him by giving him only tender touches. He didn’t condescend him by acting like their sex would break him… even if Edward sometimes felt like it would. But only in the best ways.

In the day time, Thomas was Edward’s guide. At night, Edward would guide Thomas.

“touch me here…” he’d whisper hoarsely, taking Thomas’s hand loosely by the wrist, guiding his fingertips to where he needed to be fulfilled.

“rougher. faster.” he used his words, he arched his back, tangled slender fingertips in Thomas’s soft hair and pulled his head forward. Their noses brushed against eachother at the tip. Edward used his lips to map Thomas’s face- kissing his cheek, his chin, his jaw, until their lips met.

Edward’s mouth was merciless on Thomas. He used  his tongue, his teeth, his lips, to take in Thomas’s body the way he couldn’t with his eyes. He left bitemarks on his shoulders, his chest, around his nipples, on his neck… He couldn’t see Thomas’s face but he could taste his skin. He could make Thomas moan and whimper for him and make him sweat and shiver and cum, all for him.

When they fucked their bodies were Edward’s whole world. Their forms pressed together, skin to skin, the only things in the universe.

He loved the sharp sensations of the wooden headboard of their bed banging against his shoulder blades as Thomas’s weight thrust him against it again and again and of Thomas’s teeth pulling at his skin. But he loved the tender touches too. Edward felt most comfortable and safe wrapped in Thomas’s naked arms, feeling the tickle of his eyelashes against his cheek as he stirred in his sleep. He liked the way Thomas’s cold feet felt against his own when he got into bed at night and their legs twined together. He liked the petal soft stroke of Thomas’s palm against his face.

In those moments he felt happy to pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist and was the desolate stretching blackness he saw behind his eyes. As long as Thomas was wrapped around him, the world seemed full enough to him.


	5. A Valentine's Day To Remember

For a person who spent much of his time pretending to be a curmudgeon, Thomas could be devastatingly romantic.

 

Jimmy had been pouting. Obviously they wouldn’t have a half day just for Valentines.

“And even if we did, what good would it bloody do?” he sulked. “What would we do? Go out to dine just the two of us? Walking hand in hand in the park? Fat chance.”

 

Jimmy was in his favorite spot. Sitting horizontally across Thomas’s bed with the back of his head against the wall. And Thomas was lying vertically on the bed with his legs stretched out over Jimmy’s thighs.

 

They’d stripped down to their under shirts for comfort but their trousers were still on as they had yet to arrive at the buggering portion of the evening- and likely wouldn’t if things continued on with Jimmy’s bad mood. Though he did love the way Thomas looked with his suspenders up over his undershirt and his hair falling against his forehead, smoke drifting lazily between his lips….

 

Jimmy had a difficult time having sex when he was in bad spirits. He couldn’t get aroused if he was annoyed or morose and his body would go all stiff and inflexible and never in the right places.

As opposed to Thomas who liked having sex when he’d had a rough day. It did wonders to lift his mood.

Maybe he was because he knew no matter how poorly his day had gone, it was a relief to have the pleasure of Jimmy’s embrace at night.

Other times it seemed to be a cathartic exercise. Those nights were the ones Thomas demanded Jimmy to go harder on him, faster, until Jimmy’s thrusts against him almost felt like violence. Instead of taking out his frustrations on Jimmy, he more often seemed to want Jimmy to be rougher on him.

He’d grip Jimmy’s hand to the back of his head and crush his fingers into a fist in his hair and force himself deeper and harder on Jimmy’s length until he was whimpering with pain and then ecstasy.

 

Thomas never seemed interested in quelling Jimmy’s moods or questioning his anger, though- even over petty things. Jimmy liked him for that.

It was probably one of the first thing he liked Thomas for.

Alfred would always scold Jimmy for whatever he was angry about- be it Carson or polishing silver or the bad weather, Alfred always argued with him about it.

Daisy was no better- she’d tell him to stop complaining even if she didn’t question his right to be mad.

And Ivy most infuriating of all would’ve made desperate attempts to cheer him up and calm him down which only made him more furious.

Thomas wasn’t like that at all and Jimmy had been grateful for it even when they’d not known eachother long.

 

It was funny to think about things like that- to remember himself as he’d been before he’d known he was in love with Thomas Barrow.

It seemed strange, like a different person had occupied his body in the past, one who wasn’t prey to fits of elation at the sight of Thomas and melancholy at his absence and who didn’t have the reaction of his heart speeding up tenfold when Thomas smiled his way or touched his wrist as they passed in the hallway, even though now all those things seemed as natural and fundamental and bodily to Jimmy as taking breaths to live.

 

He uncrossed his arms from over his chest and rested his hands on Thomas’s knees which were lying just above Jimmy’s lap.

 

“Bloody holidays always seemed so stupid to me before. Well not always. When I were a kid they were fun. But then afterwards they were just some randomly assigned day of the year when everyone else seemed to make a fuss and I thought it was laughable.” Jimmy muttered, his voice sulky like a child. “But now I feel they’re so important, don’t you? I hate working when I want to be making memories with you.”

Thomas laughed out loud and Jimmy punched him in the thigh.

“What’s funny then?! I’m serious, Thomas, so don’t laugh at me! Everyone else gets to do special and romantic things on Valentines but us and it isn’t bloody fair!”

 

Thomas was staring at Jimmy with his dreamy lovestruck eyes even though the smirk on his mouth was his ‘I know things that you don’t’ one.

 

“Jimmy Kent. A blushing romantic.” Thomas sighed.

“Takes one to know one, you goon.” Jimmy muttered. “At least I’m not soppy like you.”

Thomas acted as if he hadn’t heard his comment. “I think this is special enough.”

“What is?”

“You in my bed.”

“Your standards are too low.”

“Maybe.” Thomas shrugged, lighting a cigarette. “Just never thought I’d have the man of my dreams sitting next to me in bed the night before Valentines talking about making memories. My expectations have already been exceeded.”

“That’s what I mean by soppy.” Jimmy said pointing at him accusingly.

 

Thomas handed him his cigarette and Jimmy took a long drag.

 “Just get scared is all.” Jimmy finally said after a pause. “All the work days seem to blend together until I can’t tell one from the next sometimes. It makes me feel like our lives are just passing us by.”

 

He sat up and crawled on top of Thomas, sitting so he was straddling his lap and ran the palm of his hand lightly down the older man’s side as he took another drag of his cigarette with the other hand. Thomas took the cigarette back from him nonchalantly as Jimmy blew smoke out the corner of his mouth.

 

“I want to make the most of everything when I’m with you….” Jimmy murmured, dipping his head and nuzzling his face against Thomas’s chest like a cat. “It makes me antsy… Being cooped up in this house and not even able to look at you too long without Carson going red in the face and muttering about propriety under his breath.”

He felt the vibration of Thomas’s chuckle against his cheek as he nuzzled further against his neck.

“I want us to be walking hand in hand by some ocean together. Or dancing the charleston in some night club in London. Or driving in a car with no roof together in New York. Or- or” Jimmy cut himself off with a sigh of frustration. “Or at least just fucking being able to kiss eachother on the bloody cheek in the servant’s hall. I love you, Thomas. I want to let everyone know that you’re mine and I’m yours. Having to keep it a secret and not being able to do all the things other couples do-…”

“shh…” Thomas was rubbing Jimmy’s thigh soothingly and looking up at him as he talked.

“Why should the Bates’ get to kiss in the hallway and give Valentines to eachother and do all those things when we have to look both ways just to make sure no one sees.”

“The Bates’ never went driving with a roof down in New York, Jimmy.” Thomas pointed out. “So you can’t say they have it _all_.”

 

The fear that he was wasting away their time was very sincere for Jimmy. It was so dark and all consuming at times that it was nearly phobic. Only he and Thomas knew of their love for eachother (though surely others in the household had likely guessed but they didn’t really know they didn’t really understand). And sometimes that made it feel to Jimmy as if at any minute all they had could just drift away as if it had never existed in the first place.

He’d find himself gripping Thomas so hard that there’d be marks on his skin for days just so he could feel in those moments that he’d left something behind on him. After sucking Thomas’s cock he’d keep the taste of him on his tongue to memorize it, scared he’d one day be unable to recall the sensations of Thomas’s scent overpowering his thoughts and the slick of his sweat against his own skin as they moved together.

 

He didn’t to lose Thomas and have nothing left of him. He didn’t want Thomas to leave him and move on. Even before he’d confessed his feelings to Thomas he’d feared it and the fear hadn’t left him now that they were together. Jimmy knew it was selfish and possibly even cruel but he couldn’t bear the thought of Thomas being able to leave him at all without being unscathed. He wanted every moment they’d spent together to be burned into him the way Thomas felt burned into Jimmy- deeply and inexorably. But it wasn’t enough, he thought, to bugger eachother in the wine cellar or exchange chaste kisses in the hallway or in Ripon when no one else was around. It felt too intangible to Jimmy- like it could slip through both of their fingers so easily and be lost forever.

 

Thomas’s hand on his thigh, scratching gently through the fabric of his trousers brought his attention back to the moment. His face had gone serious and in the dim light his eyes were a deep, dark, blue.

 

“I’d kiss you in the hallway right in front of Mr.Carson and all the others if you wanted, you know.” Thomas said seriously, not taking his eyes off of Jimmy’s. “I’d kiss you in front of Lord Grantham and all if you asked me.”

 

Jimmy smiled wearily and leaned down to kiss Thomas on the lips once.

“I know you would, silly sod. You’re wildly impractical at the worst of times.”

 

Thomas sat up, displacing Jimmy’s position on his lap in the process, and picked up his pocket watch from his night stand.

“Mmm. S’about time. We should go.” Thomas said, studying the watch face.

“Time for what?”

“It’s almost midnight. Just a few minutes until Valentines day.” Thomas said, gently nudging Jimmy off of him and standing up.

“Where are we going?” Jimmy sputtered, sitting stubbornly on the bed as Thomas stretched his back and nodded his head toward the door.

“C’mon.” he loosely grabbed Jimmy’s wrist and pulled him up.

 

“I still don’t know where we’re bloody going, you mad man.” Jimmy said irritably though in a hushed tone as Thomas led him by the hand down stairs. They were in their socks and undershirts still and Jimmy felt strangely naked being in the big house even with all the lights out and the family tucked away in their beds.

“Aren’t you the one who wanted to go make memories?” Thomas whispered back. It was too dark to see his face but Jimmy could hear the self satisfied smirk that was undoubtedly on his face.

 

Jimmy had begun feeling genuine worry that Thomas was going to do something dreadfully foolish in the name of true love again and it would be his fault for goading him into it by accident. He wouldn’t have put it past Thomas to somehow steal the Crawley’s car and take them off on a wild night ride to London without even their shoes on.

 

He actually felt relief instead of dissapointment when Thomas stopped their journey in the servant’s hall and turned one light on so they could see eachother’s faces.

 

“Yes, this is very romantic, Thomas. Look- you can even see the stain where Molesley spilled his tea on the table from this morning. Beautiful atmosphere. Love is in the air.” Jimmy said dryly though he was smiling at Thomas who was clearly ignoring his condescension.

 

Thomas took a step back and cocked his head to one side, looking at Jimmy with calculating severity.

“mm- a little to the left.” he said.

“excuse me?”

Thomas put his hands on Jimmy’s shoulders and moved him a few steps to the left and stepped back again.

“Perfect.” Thomas said with a nod.

“Thank you.” Jimmy responded easily. “Are you going to let me in on what this is all about anytime soon or am I meant to guess?”

 

Thomas stood back, and smoothed his hair back and beamed proudly at Jimmy silently.

Finally Jimmy made a noise of impatience and rolled his eyes.

 

“Am I really supposed to guess? What is it?”

“This is where I first saw you.”

 

Jimmy fell silent and all at once any annoyance he’d been feeling seemed to drain out of him from the top of his head all the way out from his toes and fingertips.

 

Thomas ducked his head in a laugh, looking embarassed suddenly. Jimmy loved it when Thomas laughed. He felt that acutely in that moment over anything else like the cold of the floor on his feet or the way the house always felt silent and endless when it was dark. Thomas’s laughs were breathless and self conscious as if he were out of practice and Jimmy loved them.

 

“Sorry if that’s anti climactic.” Thomas said.

 

Jimmy opened his mouth to reply but found his mouth was too dry. It was fine as Thomas spoke instead, looking Jimmy in the eye now and deeply serious once more.

 

“I might not be able to give you all the memories you want, Jimmy. And I’m sorry for that. But for me… I’ll never forget.”

 

Jimmy’s chest felt painful. The foot of distance between them felt painful.

 

“I’ll never forget standing here and seeing you for the first time and feeling like my heart was about to burst.” Thomas continued. “That’s almost more romance than I can handle I think.”

He swallowed and looked down at the floor, self conscious and Jimmy remembered how he’d looked so hesitant and embarassed the day after the fair when he’d been all bruised up and in bed asking for Jimmy’s friendship.

“And I never really liked working here and this big, stupid, house until I met you and you were here. But now it just seems….” his cheeks colored and he put his hands in his pockets. “…lovely. It just seems lovely. And I’ll be in the boot room thinking about all the times we’ve skipped lunch so we could kiss in there and I can’t stop smiling like a bloody idiot. So…”

 

Jimmy paused until he knew his voice was steady. He hated hearing his voice come out all wavering and squeaking.

“Can I move from this spot now, Thomas?”

“If ya like.”

 

Jimmy nearly leapt to close the space between them and kissed Thomas. He kissed him deeply until his head was spinning and his lips were numb and he couldn’t tell where his mouth ended and Thomas’s began.

 

He wrapped his arms around Thomas and pressed against him until his back hit the edge of the table and he leaned on it for support as Jimmy hungrily ran his hands up his shirt, tangling his fingers in the fabric and pulling it as he pressed their torsos together.

 

“I love you, Thomas.” he panted as they came up to breathe, their lips red and swollen from the exertion. “I’ll never forget either. I won’t let you forget me as well. If you ever do, I’ll remind you.”

 

His lips went back to their job- caressing and pulling at Thomas’s mouth and then tongue as he ground their hips together and ran his fingers through Thomas’s hair.

 

 _You’re here_ , he kept thinking numbly as Thomas’s hands reached around to pull him closer and he felt the roughness of his scarred hand on the bare skin of his back. _You’re right here, I’ve got you_ … His kisses became sloppy, missing Thomas’s mouth and sucking at his slightly stubbled already jawline and neck, shivering at the way the prickle of hair tingled against his tongue and lips. _I won’t forget this. This won’t fade_. As Thomas pulled his trousers down and they began to rut against eachother, bodies pressed tight enough that he could feel Thomas’s pulse against his skin as if it were his own, he felt Thomas’s heartbeat thrumming hard against his own.

"Thomas..." Jimmy gasped against his neck. 

"Mmm...?"

"you really are..." Jimmy began, pausing to whimper as Thomas's hand stroked along his prick. 

"really what?" Thomas's voice was rough against the shell of his ear, his lips pressing against his skin as he spoke.

"....soppy. you really are soppy." Jimmy finished and laughed breathlessly as Thomas gave his arse a light slap and kissed him again on the lips. 

 


	6. In The Morning When I wake Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas x Philip, The Duke of Crowborough

Philip was the first person who’d ever kissed the back of Thomas’s thighs. Thoughts like that sent happy warm shivers up his spine when they came unbidden. ‘Philip is the first person who’s ever taken me out to dinner at a restaurant’ he’d thought a week after they met as Philip had held his wrist loosely as he led him to their private booth where there was already wine on the table. ‘Philip is the first person who’s ever written me a love letter that quotes poetry’, ‘Philip is the first person who I’ve ever fucked and served tea to the next morning.’

Thomas had had many lovers already in his life but it seemed with Philip the firsts were never ending.

Thomas was laying on his stomach, the bed sheets kicked off and in a bunch at the end of the bed. Philip was insufferably a morning person, as long as he hadn’t been drinking the night before. And he was already sitting up and kissing the back of Thomas’s neck.

“They’ll miss you if you don’t wake up soon. And then we’ll both be in trouble.” his voice still sounded rough with sleep though. Rough and pleasant. Not pleasant enough to rouse Thomas.

“Fuck ‘em.” he said, voice muffled against the heavenly soft pillow. Philip’s bed was softer than a cloud. Getting up from his own meager ‘bed chambers’ with the thin mattress and the hard springs was easy enough but tearing himself from the enveloping heaven of Philip’s bed was pure torture.

Philip slapped his ass lightly.

“Naughty” he chuckled under his breath as he ran his other hand through Thomas’s hair and dipped his face against Thomas’s shoulder blades. The tip of Philip’s tongue trailed down Thomas’s back, directly over his spine, pressing against every vertebrae and making him tingle.

Soon Philip’s mouth was on his arse, sucking roughly at a patch of exposed flesh until it felt numb and then running his tongue proudly along the mark he’d created before moving further down. Thomas knew it would do neither of them well to be fucking when he was probably already going to be late for breakfast. He didn’t want to arouse anymore suspicion in the house than he already had but he couldn’t exactly help it if something else was getting aroused. Or if the way Philip’s face and hand’s eager ministrations on his arse were pushing his half hard cock against the silk sheets.

He whimpered inaudibly as Philip’s soft lips and then hard, straight, perfect, teeth, nibbled at the meeting of Thomas’s thigh and buttocks. He ground his hips harder into the bed. But the duke was infuriatingly hasty moving on down Thomas’s body, moving to lay many chaste, gentle, kisses against Thomas’s thigh- his lips a tender contrast to the way his fingers raked roughly through the dark hair that went up his legs.

And then his kisses met the back of Thomas’s knees and he shuddered not from lust but because it tickled and his muscles tensed immediately, legs jerking up slightly in automatic response. Philip only chuckled against his skin and pressed his face closer. Thomas knew Philip’s face by touch so well now he could imagine how it felt nearly as well as he could conjure up the vision of his features.

His cheek was soft, softer than the pillow, or the whole bloody luxury bed. And his lips- full and coaxing and warm as he parted them over the ticklish spot of skin. His nose bumped against Thomas’s leg as he kissed him with more vigor there and soon he even felt a lock of his hair brushing against his thigh, and then a flutter of eyelashes. A butterfly kiss to the back of the knee.

Thomas groaned and buried his face deeper against the pillow and Philip trailed his fingertips down Thomas’s calf and then pressed his thumb against the arch of his foot.

“C’mon. I’ve kissed every inch of you. Time to wake up.”

“You ‘aven’t…” Thomas mumbled, turning his head so his voice could be heard and his smirk was visible to his lover. “Only the back of me. You’ll have to get working on the front now if you ever want me out of your bed.”


	7. Footmen After Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy x Alfred x Thomas: Thomas catches Alfred and Jimmy in the act of doing something rather naughty in the boot room after hours, but will they catch him watching them?

It was an accident, he assured himself. And if it were an accident, there was nothing wrong in it. He knew he couldn’t justify that to himself for long, but at the moment it would have to do. He didn’t think he could move even if he tried. Could barely blink or breathe either.

Thomas had taken his time smoking his last cigarette before bed- savored it. And that had been his undoing, it seemed, because if he’d gone up a bit earlier he never would’ve witnessed what he was witnessing. When he’d come back from outside (it was a clear night- bright stars, a bit brisk-) the rest of the staff had gone to bed and the hallways were dark. Not a problem, though. Thomas was quite used to being forgotten about and left to find his own way up without so much as a single “good night” wished upon him. That was fine.

But being the conscientious type of person that he was, of course if he saw a door open a crack, spilling light into the otherwise black hallway, he would go to investigate it and put out the light.

Well, initially he hadn’t knocked or opened the door because he was hoping to overhear whatever covert conversation had to be held in the boot room in the middle of the night. As usual, he got much more than he’d bargained for.

For he’d certainly not bargained to see Jimmy and Alfred, stripped from the waist up, rutting against eachother and lips pressed together, hands in eachother’s hair as they fell back against the table. Jimmy’s leg hooked around Alfred’s waist, pulling him closer, forcing the hard line of his cock visible through his pants, to rub harder against Jimmy’s equally erect protrusion.

And the sounds they were making… Thomas was shocked he hadn’t started hearing them from outside while he was still smoking.

It was wrong to watch, Thomas knew that. But he supposed he could mark it down to shock. Yes, it was the shock that was keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground, his face as close to the crack and the door as it could get without risking being sighted. The shock, and not, say, the growing need he felt heating his own abdomen as he watched the display with bated breath.

“Are you sure it’s right… to be doing this…?” Alfred asked hesitantly, out of breath as he was.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, sweeping a rebellious lock of golden hair out of his eyes to glare at him more effectively.

“ ** _You_** started it or don’t you remember. And you seemed to bloody well enjoy yourself last time.” he shot back. “If you don’t want to have another go, you might as well tell me now so I can go upstairs an’ not waste me time. Otherwise…”

Jimmy cocked his head to one side, an attractive smirk gracing his lips, and wiggled his eyebrows at Alfred. “… drop your trousers.”

Alfred sighed but only with a bit of trepidation, did indeed drop his trousers. Unknowingly exposing his pale, white, arse to Thomas’s view. The back of Alfred’s thighs were lightly dotted with freckles that matched the ones speckled across his shoulders and the back of his forearms which looked surprisingly strong- tense with defined muscles that flexed as he shifted from foot to foot awkwardly under Jimmy’s gaze.

Jimmy smiled, pulling him closer and brushing his fingertips down the side of his ribs. “You’re so bashful. You’ve no need to be.” his eyes flicked downward to Alfred’s cock pointedly, “You’re tall. Leaves nothing to be desired _down there_.”

Even from his view by the door Thomas could see the light blush that had stretched all the way across Alfred’s face to the tips of his ears and down his neck.

Jimmy began to use his hand to bring Alfred off. Thomas’s view of the action itself was partially obscured by the angle but he could see Alfred’s face screwed up with lust- his eyebrows knitted together and the whimpers barely escaping as he chewed on his lower lip to keep them at bay. And he could see the smirk on Jimmy’s face and the way his gorgeously crafted chest tensed with every jerk of his arm.

There was a thrill in being able to watch Jimmy without Jimmy knowing. To see the intimate expressions that crossed his face and to stare unabashedly at the unattended swell still visibly straining against the fabric of his trousers.

Thomas himself was having a similar problem and the heat pulsing stiffly against his thigh was becoming unbearable. But to touch himself felt like it would legitimize the situation and his conscious involvement in it.

But when Jimmy pulled his pants down to his thighs, freeing his arousal- a perfect, perfect cock, thick and leaking fluid from the tip- it didn’t leave Thomas with much of a choice. He let his own hand begin slowly stroking the shape of his cock through his trousers, taking a slow and shaking breath as quietly as he could and barely blinking.

Alfred was on his knees, lathing Jimmy’s cock with brief, tentative licks and kisses across the length of his shaft.

“C’mon” Jimmy groaned impatiently.

His groan was enough to make Thomas feel like his insides were doing back flips and he wet his quickly drying mouth by running his tongue over his lips eagerly as he watched Jimmy throw his head back, adam’s apple bobbing in his neck as he whimpered for Alfred.

He had a perfect view of the length of Jimmy’s cock sliding in and out of Alfred’s clumsy but eager mouth. The ginger’s cock was still jutting out between his legs, red and needy and dripping cum onto the wood floor.

Alfred’s hands were large and gripping the base of Jimmy’s cock, covered any inch of skin his mouth couldn’t attend to. Thomas couldn’t help but wonder and imagine what those calloused, slender, fingers would feel like against his own skin. Probably more forgiving than the chafing fabric of his underwear and trousers rubbing mercily against his erection. His hand was moving with more desperation now, cupping and pressing against his straining cock, forcing the friction that tightened the tense knot of want in his stomach.

Jimmy was panting hard and tiny squeaks of pleasure escaped his lips everytime Alfred’s mouth drew back.

“Do you think about him? When you’re sucking me off?” Jimmy asked breathlessly. Alfred took Jimmy’s cock out of his mouth but continued licking it, smearing his lips with the cum on the shaft and coating his mouth with the taste of him as if he couldn’t be parted from it for even an instant to catch his breath.

“Dunno what you mean…” was all Alfred said, equally out of breath and his voice taking on a new roughness Thomas had never heard from him before.

“Mr.Barrow.” Jimmy answered. “You pretend it’s his cock you’re sucking?”

Alfred paused and Thomas certainly paused out of sight in the doorway, mouth inadvertently dropped in shock.

“Course not.” Alfred muttered but the bashfulness in his voice was evident.

“Oh, c’mon. I see the way you look at him.” Jimmy snickered, running his hand through Alfred’s hair and then curling his fingers into it, guiding his head down on his cock once more.

“He’s _your_ friend.” Alfred said with a touch of bitterness, swiping the tip of his tongue across the slit of Jimmy’s cock, “Not mine.” before taking Jimmy’s length down his throat once more.

Thomas thought to himself that he knew he was dreaming now. He even gave his arm a pinch for good measure.

Dream or not he was certainly getting plenty of good material by which to wank himself off at night to- though he was afraid that after this experience, unmoving two dimensional and blurry photographs of men would no longer be sufficient.

He put his hand against the wall to support himself as he gripped his cock through his pants firmly so the rough fabric was enveloping him in all sides and grit his teeth at the scratch of pain and pleasure it sent rasping along his most tender areas. He was nearing his limit and chewing on his lower lip to keep from moaning.

Jimmy, too, was close to finishing- the room was filled with the sounds of his broken exhalations and the groans and whimpers he wasn’t even trying to stifle anymore as Alfred slowed his pace teasingly, rubbing his fingers across Jimmy’s bollocks as he sucked. Then as Alfred took Jimmy to the hilt one last time, Jimmy bucked his hips up into his mouth and cried out as he came, his whole body tensing up.

Thomas gasped, feeling his cock leaking cum and soiling his pants and gripped the outside of the doorframe harder, moving his hand faster though no amount of friction or pressure seemed to be enough and then- his knee hit the cracked open door.

And it made an almighty creaking noise and the door jarred wider open.

Thomas jumped back quickly, out of view from the new opening and panic stricken as he could only hear the stunned silence from the other room.

“Did you hear that?”

“The door! Someone’s there!”

“Shit…”

Thomas hastened to retreat silently as possible though it was incredibly difficult to do so- being in the condition he was in- but a treacherous floorboard creaked loudly under his step and soon the footmen on the other side had run to the door and swung it fully open.

There was no way of avoiding the shame. Thomas was flushed, his hair fallen out of place and his trousers tented and stained with his obvious arousal. Though Alfred and Jimmy were by no means a picture of innocence either- both stark naked before him, though Alfred had used his hands to hide himself as best he could.

Thomas was panicked, frozen and unable to move. But Jimmy was letting his eyes rake over the sight of Thomas and slowly he smiled.

“It’s a bit rude to interrupt our fun, Mr.Barrow.” he said, sounding rather chipper. “But I’m sure our party could use one more.”

Thomas struggled to process the words and swallowed hard before croaking out a faint “…what?”

Jimmy took a step closer to him. The musky smell of sweat and cum on his skin was intoxicating. He place his hand on Thomas’s chest and the under butler held his breath, sure the younger man could feel how fast his heartbeat was racing. And then his fingers trailed down, undoing the buttons on his waistcoat as Thomas remained stock still, paralyzed. Jimmy leaned forward, his lips a breath away from Thomas’s before he paused.

“May I…?” he whispered- the breath that carried the words passing from his lips to Thomas’s trembling ones.

“Please…” Thomas said weakly, his tongue clumsy and barely able to form the word. “Please… please…” he repeated as Jimmy’s mouth brushed against his jawline, trailing down his neck.

Jimmy slipped his hands under Thomas’s waistcoat and gently pulled him by his braces out of the darkness of the hallway into the light of the room. Thomas noticed that Alfred was still standing off to the side, his erection covered by his hands and his face beet red with embarassment.

“Doesn’t look like you’ll last long…” Jimmy murmured. He stroked Thomas’s erection lightly and it took every ounce of withering self control Thomas had left not to hump against Jimmy’s warm hand.

Thomas reluctantly looked away from Jimmy over to Alfred and nodded at him once.

“You said you wanted me, didn’t you?” he asked.

Alfred looked up, mouth dropped open and stammered to answer.

“Come prove it then.” Thomas said.

Alfred’s hands trembled slightly as he undressed Thomas. But Jimmy came behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, rubbing slow circles across his abdomen soothingly until Alfred’s tremors stilled and his breath evened out to a calm rhythm.

Thomas bent over the table, offering up his naked arse to Alfred and Jimmy’s view. He could feel the blush pulsing hotly in his face but he wanted it too much to feel embarassed.

Jimmy’s hand touched the back of his thigh, trailing up to the cleft of his arse and gently massaging and spreading him there, rubbing his thumb across his entrance slowly until Thomas was already whimpering by the time he stuck the first finger in.

“I don’t think we’ll need any lubricant for you, Mr.Barrow.” he said quietly, his voice soft but deep and hoarse with desire. “I’m sure you’re quite used to all this.”

It had been a while since Thomas had had anything larger than his own fingers in that spot but he couldn’t deny the many nights he spent in his room after dark, stretching his own limits and filling himself with his fingers just to find release even in his loneliness.

“You’re already sucking me in like you’re begging for it…” Jimmy said nearly with reverence as he fucked Thomas roughly on the now three fingers he had inside of him. Then all at once they were removed and Thomas grunted with dissapointment at the emptiness.

“You take care of Alfred.” Jimmy said, “and I’ll take care of you…”

Jimmy kneeled in front of Thomas and smirked up at him, his mouth perfectly level with Thomas’s bollocks.

Alfred stood behind Thomas and slowly began to slide his cock into him. It was a stretch and Thomas hung his head, wincing from the pain of it and gritting his teeth. Alfred was thick and large and his hands steadying Thomas’s hips had a bruisingly tight hold. But it felt good to be filled so completely that every other thought seemed to be forced from Thomas’s mind. When Alfred came to the hilt it felt as if Thomas could barely even breathe- like there wasn’t room in his body to take a breath with the full length of the footman inside him.

Then Jimmy began using his mouth- first sweetly and tenderly. He left light kisses all along Thomas’s cock, then on his bollocks, even his thighs. Then he began to nip gently at his inner thighs, where the skin was already sensitive and charged with heat. He moved, nuzzling his nose and his face against Thomas’s groin, then lightly running his damp lips against Thomas’s bollocks, pressing his mouth to them then lightly dragging the edge of his teeth across their curve.

Thomas arched his back and dug his nails into the wood of the table, overcome by sensation. Alfred was working a rhythm on him from behind now and every thrust sent a radiating wave of pleasure through the length of his body. He could hear the taller footman gasping and could feel his hands curling against his hips in desperation. Alfred had been waiting long and was on the edge.

But Thomas couldn’t hold back either when Jimmy finally took his cock into his mouth and began to suck him off roughly. It didn’t take long, with Jimmy moaning and rolling his tongue across his shaft, before Thomas was nearly doubled over and crying out in a strangled sob from his climax that left him panting and trembling. Alfred’s thrusts increased in pace until he too came and pulled out, leaving Thomas weak and dripping.

If this was the reward, Thomas planned to stay late to get his last cigarette every night from then on.


	8. More Than Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alternate ending to the last scene of the s3 Christmas special. based on this gifset and the comments on it. http://camaelczarka.tumblr.com/post/55943170776/

Jimmy knew he’d already stumbled over half a dozen words while reading the newspaper but Thomas hadn’t seemed to notice. He was just looking at him from the bed as if Jimmy was reading him Shakespeare and he’d never heard poetry before. When really it was just a dull article about the state of the economy. Jimmy was stealing glimpses over the edge of the paper at the other man and subsequently kept losing his place on the page. He felt badly for Thomas- his injuries looked painful. But in other ways he looked… well, **_good_** , actually…

 _His hair’s long when it’s not slicked back_ … Jimmy thought. He’d noticed at the fair as well in the tug-of-war. Mr.Barrow’s hair had fallen out of it’s usual place then too.

He’d seen Thomas in just an under shirt before- the last time he remembered being the night Thomas had kissed him. But he hadn’t really given himself an opportunity that night to really ** _see_** Thomas in his undershirt. _Strong arms_ , he noted- trying to take all these details of Thomas’s appearance that he couldn’t seem to avoid looking at as mere observations but he felt a strange flutter in his chest.

Thomas himself couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Unfortunately it had been a long time since he could remember being this happy. But it didn’t matter- whatever had happened was in the past because nothing could bring him more joy than having Jimmy sitting beside him. Well a few things could bring him more joy, but he pushed those thoughts out of his head. If friendship was the most he could hope for then he’d gladly take it.

Jimmy sighed in the middle of the sentence he was reading and abruptly folded the newspaper.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake.” he said grimly.

The smile was gone off Thomas’s face as quickly as it had come and he felt the heavy weight on his chest he’d been feeling for the last year return with renewed pain. He wondered vaguely if there would ever be a time in his life where he could feel happy for more than ten minutes at a time without something going wrong. It made sense, he thought to himself, that no matter what he did Jimmy would feel too uncomfortable to want to be around him. He couldn’t blame him after what he’d done. It had been too much to ask for even his friendship it seemed.

Jimmy stood up, tossing the newspaper to the ground and began walking towards the door while Thomas felt his heart breaking all over again but instead of walking out, Jimmy closed the door. Then retrieved the chair he’d been sitting in and propped it up under the doorknob to lock it.

“Uh…” Thomas said, confused more than hurt now.

Jimmy walked back over and in a very business-like manner, got onto the bed and straddled Thomas’s waist.

“Jimmy?”

The footman leaned forward and pressed his lips against Thomas’s, his arms wrapping around Thomas’s back and squeezing him close.

For several moments it was pure euphoria- all he could feel in the world was Jimmy’s lips and then Jimmy’s _tongue_ against his mouth and the sensation of his heart on the edge of bursting. But soon he started to feel pain in his ribs where Jimmy was holding him too tightly and he made a muffled sound against the other man’s mouth. Jimmy pulled away instantly, looking as shocked as Thomas felt.

“Sorry. I…” Jimmy swallowed, flustered, running a hand through his own hair thoughtlessly and mussing his usually perfect coif.

“No, it’s just my injuries.” Thomas assured him quickly. “D-don’t stop.”

“Oh. Er.. Right, then.”

Jimmy leaned forward once more, kissing Thomas deeply on the mouth but this time his hands wandered across his shoulders lightly. His tongue ran over Thomas’s teeth as he ghosted his fingertips down his chest, then paused, his thumbs rubbing slow but purposeful circles around Thomas’s nipples making the under butler arch his back rather painfully into the touch.

Jimmy pushed Thomas back against the pillows and ground his hips against his.

“God-” Thomas mumbled out against Jimmy’s mouth. His lips were as soft as they’d looked all those times Thomas had allowed himself to stare at them.

But when Jimmy’s hands started to push up the bottom of his shirt he grabbed him by the wrist.

“What?” Jimmy asked breathlessly.

“You shouldn’t… I’m all bruised.”

Jimmy half smiled. “I’m sure I’ve seen worse, Mr.Barrow.”

“No, I just- I don’t want the first time you see me to be like… this.” he said, not letting go of his wrist. Jimmy placed a tender kiss by his temple- above where there was a large cut.

“Alright.” he conceded, moving his hands up to run through Thomas’s hair, smoothing it back from his face. “But I wouldn’t mind.”

Jimmy kissed every scrape on Thomas’s face gently so his lips barely touched them and then ran his tongue along the cut splitting his lip. Thomas closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in the sensation.

“I was wrong before.” Jimmy said, caressing the side of Thomas’s face. “I can give you what you want.”

He brought his other hand down between Thomas’s legs, cupping his crotch and rubbing it through the thin fabric of his pajama pants.

“Nnngh…” Thomas made a muffled keening sound.

“Isn’t this what you want?” Jimmy whispered, pressing his lips to Thomas’s again to silence him. Jimmy met Thomas’s hips with his own, rubbing slowly so their cocks were against eachother through the fabric. He could feel Thomas getting hard underneath him.

“Tell me.” Jimmy pulled away, looking in his eyes.

“I want you.” he responded out of breath. Jimmy smirked and then nodded.

“Right you are, Mr.Barrow.” he said, moving lower onto the bed and pulling down the waistband to the other’s pajama pants, freeing his erection.

In one fluid movement Jimmy swirled his tongue around the head of Thomas’s penis and then took it in it’s entirety into his mouth.

“Ah! J-Jimmy…!” Thomas tried not to cry out too loudly, back arching against the bed once more at the sudden albeit pleasant feeling of Jimmy’s tongue lapping across his length.

Jimmy made a lewd moaning sound sending vibrations around Thomas’s cock that made him hiss and curl his hands into fists against the bedsheets. It had been too long since he’d had another man’s mouth on him and he was already feeling dizzy with ecstacy from the sensation. He couldn’t keep himself from squirming and catching his breath even though everytime he did it shot a sharp pain through his sides from his broken ribs. _Definitely worth it_ , he thought. Even if it set his recovery back a week it would still be worth it.

Too soon he found himself on the edge of release, using every fiber of self control he had to keep from bucking his hips into the footmans’ mouth. His hand ran through Jimmy’s hair, curling his fingers in it at the back.

“Jimmy… Jimmy.. I’m going to…” he whimpered faintly, his eyes fluttering as his body surged with heat. Jimmy only took him deeper until he felt himself bumping the back of his throat and the sensation sent him over the edge.

From a simple, quick, blowjob it was one of the most intense orgasms he’d ever had and he called out Jimmy’s name as he came before falling back against the bed, exhausted, panting, and sweating.

When the fuzzy feeling of bliss lessened, Jimmy was lying curled next to him on the tiny bed, running his tongue over his own lips. He was smiling quite smugly as he reached over and tucked a lock of Thomas’s hair away from his face.

“I’d like it if we could be _more_ than friends, Mr.Barrow.” he said.

Thomas felt a blush creeping to his cheeks but returned his smile.

“I think I could manage that.” 


	9. Absent on Picture Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The explanation for why we have no pics of our favorite boys in the latest behind the scenes photos.

“Having fun, Jimmy?”

Thomas could be so cheeky sometimes. Jimmy frowned, putting down an emptied silver tray on the table. It was a sweltering hot day. He could probably bake cookies in the space between his collared shirt and his black jacket.  _Too hot for an outdoor party_ , Jimmy thought bitterly. He kept stealing glances at his hair in the polished silver when no one was looking but that seemed to be in order- he thought rather vainly that the sunlight seemed to making the highlights of fairer blond stand out all the more. But he was sweating under his collar and everytime he had an excuse to steal back to one of the tents where the food was, he’d stay there for several minutes in the shade, fanning himself.

Thomas, on the other hand, despite the fact that he was dressed in equally warm clothes as Jimmy, and who had dark hair, and pale skin, seemed to not mind the weather at all and Jimmy resented him for it slightly. Jimmy loved this type of weather in the correct context which was stripped down to a light suit or even swim wear and lying by some body of water, relaxing. He thought this humidity wasn’t suited to bowing and scraping.

“Not really, Mr.Barrow.” Jimmy answered with an expression somewhere between a forced smile and a grimace. There were some people milling about a few feet away so he didn’t want to say what he would’ve otherwise which was something along the lines of ‘No, Thomas, I’m bloody hot and want to rip all these stupid clothes off right now- preferably with you.’

Thomas took a step closer to him which surprised Jimmy a little and he swung his head round several times to make sure no one was looking even though there was still a foot between them. Thomas was much more forward when it came to interacting with Jimmy in public and it never failed to make him slightly nervous.   

“Well, you know, with the extra hired help for the party I’m sure no one would notice one footman gone.” Thomas whispered to him, the corners of his lips turning up slightly. Those gorgeous, red, lips… Jimmy found himself licking his own lips as he stared at them transfixed. With the preparations for the party there’d not been any time between the two of them much to his chagrin.

“Would they notice an under butler gone missing too?” Jimmy asked.

Thomas shrugged. “Not if we’re quick.”

Jimmy took a step back, sighing in frustration as he looked around again.

“Well that’s out of the question. There’s nowhere to go. We’ll definitely be missed if we walk all the way back to the house.”

Thomas pursed his lips, thinking, blue eyes slowly scanning the party when realization seemed to dawn on him.

He smirked and began walking away. Jimmy followed as inconspicuously as he could manage.  

They stopped at one of the smaller tables that had  a vase of flowers on it.

“What are we doing, Thomas?” Jimmy whispered insistently. Thomas ignored him, looked round twice before ducking under the table cloth and hiding.

Jimmy stood in dumbfounded silence for a moment. It was true that he couldn’t see that there was a person underneath the table at all, standing next to it. But it seemed so ridiculously childish. Thomas reached his arm out from under the table and tickled Jimmy’s ankle making him jump. With a resigned sigh he also gave a quick glance around the party- no one seemed to be in this area- so he pulled up the hem of the tablecloth and ducked down underneath it as well.

Under the table it was shady and almost cool- well, atleast in comparison to being in the direct sunlight. And everything was cast with a light blue glow from the color of the cloth. Thomas was comically scrunched into a ball to make room for Jimmy who was on his knees with his head bowed down.

“What are we doing down here?” Jimmy asked, exasperated.

Thomas grinned at him and leaned forward, carefully pushing Jimmy’s legs apart so that they wouldn’t stick out from underneath the table and reaching his hands underneath Jimmy’s coat. He pressed his lips against his jawline as he pulled off the jacket and then Jimmy’s braces, pushing his trousers down mid-thigh. Jimmy gasped and threw his head back but immediately felt the back of his head brush against the tablecloth and had to scrunch foreward more in an awkward crab-walk with his pants down. Thomas sat between Jimmy’s thighs, pulling him close enough that their chests were nearly against eachother’s to make room and smiled at Jimmy, kissing him once on the lips.

“I can’t belive we’re doing this…  ** _You’re_**  still dressed but if anyone happens to walk by  ** _I’ll_** definitely get sacked.” Jimmy said quietly but his tone and the smile on his face implied that he couldn’t care less if that happened.

Thomas opened his mouth and licked the palm of his hand in one smooth stroke with the flat of his tongue before reaching between Jimmy’s legs and slowly tugging at his half-hard cock.

“Ugh- God- Yes.” Jimmy grunted, momentarily forgetting himself.

“shhh” Thomas hushed and silenced him with a wet kiss that made his lips tingle.  

Thomas’s fingers were squeezing and stroking simultaneously as he pulled his palm slowly up and down Jimmy and the footman soon couldn’t help but thrust his hips against the other man’s hand in attempt to speed up the motion.

Thomas pulled his face from Jimmy’s breathlessly and simultaneously took his hand off him, making him release a small whimper of frustration.

“Alright- uh- this might take a bit of maneuvering…” Thomas said quietly. Jimmy nodded, trying not to pant like a dog but he was so hard and needed Thomas’s touch again…

“Scooch back a bit-“ the under butler gave Jimmy’s bottom a slight pat to move him backwards which only made the heat in his abdomen twist even more insistently but he silently moved back as far as he could without making the shape of his head visible through the tablecloth.

“And- er- spread your knees a bit more.” he instructed, in hushed tones again.

“Can’t without splitting me pants” Jimmy bit back and Thomas nodded in understanding, chewing his lip as he thought.

“Right… here…” he pulled the laces undone on one of Jimmy’s shoes and pulled it off. Then pushed his pants down to the footman’s ankles and took one leg out of them completely so the trousers could be pushed to the side.

“Better.” Jimmy whispered, though it only emphasized the absurdity of the situation that he was now with one his trousers hanging around the ankle of just one leg and the other leg bare with no shoe on it. With the new freedom he spread his legs as far as he could, giving Thomas more room to kneel between them and lean down, scrunched up like he was groveling.

Jimmy’s fingers curled into fists in the grass underneath him and he hissed slightly as Thomas took his length into his mouth. He was terrified of being found out if they were too noisy. Already he was sure someone walking by would be able to hear the lewd sucking noises Thomas’s lips were making that sounded extremely loud to his own ears and were driving him wild.

Thomas drew his mouth back until his lips were pressed against the head of Jimmy’s cock and Jimmy bucked his hips up slightly, banging the top of his head once against the table painfully.

“Ow-“ he muttered under his breath.

“You okay?”

“Don’t stop.”

Thomas continued, swallowing Jimmy until he could feel the back of the man’s throat gripping him.

He could feel moans swelling in his chest and he brought a fist to his mouth, biting down hard on his knuckles to keep from crying out as Thomas’s head bobbed in his lap and he shot his seed down the other man’s throat in a long burst.

When he’d finished he swore he could see stars in front of his eyes and breathlessly almost leaned backwards and out from under the tablecloth but Thomas grabbed his hand, pulling him forward and steadying him.

“Alright?” he asked in a hushed voice, smiling at Jimmy. His eyes were twinkling with happiness and they matched the tablecloth’s blue. His bangs were already falling out of their place from bending down too long and one dropped to the corner of his eyebrow. Jimmy took the under butler’s face in his hands and ran his thumbs against his cheekbones, pulling him close to kiss him deeply as an answer.

He ran his tongue against his swollen lips and tasted his own flavor, giving him shivers of pleasure all through his torso. Thomas pulled him closer so their chests were flush against eachother’s and Jimmy wrapped his legs around Thomas’s waist to save space under the table.

“mmmn” Thomas moaned quietly but appreciatively against Jimmy’s mouth and brought his hands up to run through Jimmy’s hair.

 _Just this once I’ll let you mess with my hair_ … Jimmy thought to himself after weighing his options of pulling away and scolding him or continuing the mind numbing kiss. Thomas’s fingers did feel good running along his scalp even if he knew it would ruin his coif. In return for Thomas’s boldness at ruining the precious and trademark Jimmy Kent hair-do, Jimmy reached his arms round Thomas’s waist and gave his backside a firm squeeze with both hands. He smirked as he felt the under butler yelp in surprise against his mouth. Jimmy massaged the soft but firm flesh there as he ground his hips against Thomas’s crotch and slowly sucked on the man’s lower lip.

“You taste good.” Jimmy whispered, flicking his tongue against Thomas’s.

“I taste like you.” Thomas whispered back.

Jimmy chuckled quietly. “Then I taste good.”

Thomas ran his hands up and down Jimmy’s muscled but slender thighs several times as the footman continued to kiss him.

“Mnn… We should go. They’ll be wondering where we are.” the under butler said reluctantly.

Jimmy sighed, pulling away.

“Suppose you’re right.”

He put his foot through the other trouser leg and fixed his braces back on (being very cautious not to bang his head against the table again) while Thomas ran a hand through his own hair and took deep breaths, closing his eyes.

 _He’s probably trying to picture the Dowager naked,_ Jimmy thought with a slight smirk, tying up his shoelaces. Once he was back in his uniform entirely he leaned forward and gave Thomas a chaste kiss on the cheek which only made the under butler wince more.

“I’ll take care of you later, love. Don’t worry.” he whispered in his ear. Thomas nodded and ducked his head very slightly under the tablecloth, peering out.

“Coast is clear. Let’s go.”

They both quickly dashed out from under at once with no witnesses and smirked at eachother.

“Oh- there you two are.” Branson walked up to them (if he’d come a minute sooner they’d have been finished), holding baby Sybil in the crook of his arm. “We were looking for you. They have a photographer here who wants to take some pictures of the staff as well. Come over to the tent.”

Thomas and Jimmy exchanged a wide eyed, panicked look at eachother.

Jimmy’s hair was messier than he’d probably ever allowed himself to be seen in public with. Thomas’s lips were a sinful red and swollen from Jimmy’s teasing nips and bites.  

“Uh… I think we’ll pass on the pictures, thanks.” Thomas said with a  nervous smile to Branson.

“Yes. Get some of the ladies- they all look nice today.” Jimmy added quickly.

Branson looked them up and down suspiciously then shaking his head slightly shrugged and walked away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the footman and the under butler burst out laughing.


End file.
